1. Technical Field
The invention relates to text entry on electronic devices. More particularly, the invention relates to selection of desired languages amount multiple language databases on electronic devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Technological advances have enabled manufacturers to create various small-format personal electronic devices. Some examples are Personal Data Assistants (PDA), Cellular Phones, small-form-factor data entry units, and other small-form-factor communication units.
In many parts of the world, people regularly communicate in more than one language. Fluency in a native language plus English for business transactions, for instance, is common. Because SMS and e-mail is used regularly for messages between people and companies in different countries, a messaging application needs to support multiple languages. Two messages sent to two different people may use two different languages, and a single message may often mix words and phrases from two or more languages, for example, “I'll meet you at L'Arc de Triomphe at 1700.”
Many mobile devices contain disambiguating and predictive text entry systems, primarily T9® Text Input, installed with multiple languages for the continent for which they are targeted. But few mobile device manufacturers make it easy or obvious to the user how to switch languages during text entry. If there is a text entry language setting that is separate from the display/menu language setting, it is often hidden deep in a menu structure.
It would be advantageous to provide a text entry system that provides the user the ability to simultaneously use two (or more) languages in a single text message or entry field, e.g. SMS, E-mail, Address Book entry without explicit language switching.